The Role of Environmental Factors in the Early Development of Egyptian Stone Architecture
Abstract and Figures
Much detail regarding the early development of stone architecture in Egypt remains unclear. Prevailing studies tend to focus on the contribution of religious and socioeconomic factors, but the role of environmental elements should not be understated. For much of the First Dynasty, innovation in stone architecture was driven by developments in the private realm, a result of favourable geology in Lower Egypt. Meanwhile, multiple strands of evidence suggest that Egypt experienced wetter climatic conditions during the Early Dynastic period and the Old Kingdom. This would have had major implications on both the production of mudbrick and the short-term durability of mudbrick structures. It is argued that these environmental factors played a key role in facilitating and accelerating the rise of stone architecture in Egypt.
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... Past studies demonstrated that, from about 11,000 to 5,000 B.P, during the so-called 'Green Sahara' period, the whole Sahara was much wetter than today, and the landscape was savannah rather than desert (35, 36). Around 4500-4800 years B.P. too, the Eastern Mediterranean region was wetter than it is now, despite drying up later (37,38,39). A range of annual precipitation value of 50-150 mm/year is assumed in the following calculation to perform crude computations of water resource. ...
... The contribution of economic, socio-political, and religious factors was previously highlighted (44,45), but environmental factors were also possibly influential. In 2020, Wong provided evidence that the climate, geology, and hydrology would have influenced building choices and may have contributed to, or perhaps accelerated, the emergence of stone architecture on the Saqqara plateau (37). ...
... According to Trzciński et al.(34), the strongly cemented structure L3 found in the Great Trench surrounding the Djoser Complex was due to cyclical watering while the high content of Fe3+ indicates that the region experienced intensive weathering in a warm and humid environment. In 2020, Wong concluded that the 'intriguing possibility that the Great Trench that surrounds the Djoser complex may have been filled with water' during Djoser's reign (37). If so, this might explain why tombs were built on the northern part of the Saqqara plateau which has a higher altitude (45) and nothing was constructed inside the Trench until the reign of Userkaf and Unas (V th Dynasty). ...
The Step Pyramid of Djoser in Saqqara, Egypt, is considered the oldest of the seven monumental pyramids built about 4,500 years ago. From transdisciplinary analysis, it was discovered that a hydraulic lift may have been used to build the pyramid. Based on our mapping of the nearby watersheds, we show that one of the unexplained massive Saqqara structures, the Gisr el-Mudir enclosure, has the features of a check dam with the intent to trap sediment and water. The topography beyond the dam suggests a possible ephemeral lake west of the Djoser complex and water flow inside the ’Dry Moat’ surrounding it. In the southern section of the moat, we show that the monumental linear rock-cut structure consisting of successive, deep compartments combines the technical requirements of a water treatment facility: a settling basin, a retention basin, and a purification system. Together, the Gisr el-Mudir and the Dry Moat’s inner south section work as a unified hydraulic system that improves water quality and regulates flow for practical purposes and human needs. Finally, we identified that the Step Pyramid’s internal architecture is consistent with a hydraulic elevation mechanism never reported before. The ancient architects may have raised the stones from the pyramid centre in a volcano fashion using the sediment-free water from the Dry Moat’s south section. Ancient Egyptians are famous for their pioneering and mastery of hydraulics through canals for irrigation purposes and barges to transport huge stones. This work opens a new line of research: the use of hydraulic force to erect the massive structures built by Pharaohs.
The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt is the only up-to-date, single-volume history of ancient Egypt available in English. The accessible essays and attractive illustrations portray the emergence and development of the distinctive civilization of the ancient Egyptians, from their prehistoric origins to their incorporation into the Roman Empire, covering the period from c. 700,000 BC to AD 311. The authors - all experts working at the cutting edge of their particular fields - outline the principal sequence of political events, including detailed examinations of the three so-called 'intermediate periods' which were previously regarded as 'dark ages' and are only now beginning to be better understood. Against the backdrop of the rise and fall of ruling dynasties, this Oxford History also examines cultural and social patterns, including stylistic developments in art and literature. The pace of change in such aspects of Egyptian culture as monumental architecture, funerary beliefs, and ethnicity was not necessarily tied to the rate of political change. Each of the authors of this history has therefore set out to elucidate, in both words and pictures, the underlying patterns of social and political change and to describe the changing face of ancient Egypt, from the biographical details of individuals to the social and economic factors that shaped the lives of the population as a whole.
The site of Naga ed-Deir is located on the east bank of the Nile near Abydos. The Early Dynastic portion of the site consisted of four cemeteries. Cemeteries N1500 and N3000 contained primarily tombs of Dynasties I and II, while the tombs in cemeteries N3500 and N500 dated to Dynasties II and III. The preserved tomb superstructures were rectangular in plan and oriented roughly northsouth. The mastabas had mud brick walls with little or no batter constructed around inner cores of gravel, rubble, sand or mud brick. Evidence of enclosure walls and of small, walled courtyards on the western side of some mastabas was found. Super- and substructure walls were often coated with mud plaster over which a layer of white plaster was sometimes applied. The earliest and largest mastabas had niche paneled façades on at least their western (valley-facing) and southern sides. The back panels of some niches were painted red. Most mastabas were small and had only two niches on the western side. These niches, whether simple or compound, were short and topped with a lintel. The most common form of grave was a simple pit, the lower portion of which consisted of a single burial chamber, often lined with mud brick and roofed. Roofs were either flat and made of wood and mud plaster or mud brick, or vaults made of mud brick. Multi-chambered tombs were rare. Some burial chambers were accessed by a ramp or stairway, which was sealed with mud brick and, occasionally, large limestone slabs. Most tombs contained only a single burial. Pottery and stone vessels were the most common grave goods, but unusual finds such as the metal tools of a carpentry kit and an elaborate parure of gold testify to the ancient importance of the site and its inhabitants.
The Early Dynastic necropolis at Helwan has produced a significant number of tombs, which allow for insights into the architecture and chronological development of private funerary architecture in Egypt. The architectural and material characteristics of substructures of the two common types as well as the mastaba superstructures of these tombs suggest that while general trends can be observed, there is a high degree of variability among the early tombs. This is particularly obvious when considering the unusual quantity of large, monolithic limestone that was employed in the construction of a small number of elite tombs at Helwan. This form of construction also sheds light on the high level of expertise of the early engineers in the Memphite region as they laid the foundations for monumental stone architecture in Egypt.
Cambridge Core - Egyptology - The Nile and Ancient Egypt - by Judith Bunbury